Former Leeds midfielder Ronaldo Vieira has revealed that he still supports Leeds after his £5.85million move to Sampdoria in the summer.
In an interview with FourFourTwo magazine, Vieira said, “The move was quite quick. They [Sampdoria] just came with an offer and that’s what happens – when the club receives a good offer, they accept it.
“I was willing and open to it, so everything went smoothly.
“I have no bad feelings about Leeds; I’m grateful for what they’ve done for me, and I think I improved a lot as a player and became more mature there, so I thank them. I’m still supporting them now.”
?? INTERVIEW
?? Ronaldo Vieira: 'I still support Leeds and didn’t feel like I had to leave… but Sampdoria are a big club'??https://t.co/76veFLeq6z
? @aksmackenzie #LUFC pic.twitter.com/Vy8PtM9SKG— FourFourTwo (@FourFourTwo) December 13, 2018
OPINION
The move for Ronaldo Vieira came out of the blue in the summer and went through very quickly. Many Leeds fans thought it was a mistake but their side has done okay without him under Marcelo Bilesa and the near-£6million fee was obviously too much to resist. Vieira has had a fairly slow start to his career in Serie A, making four appearances in the league, but he’s started three of the last five games, in a sign that he’s adapted and finally ready to play a big part under manager Marco Giampaolo. That’s going to be vital if he wants to fulfil his dream of playing for the England Under-21 side in the Euros this summer. “I want to get into the Under-21 squad for the Euros in the summer,” Vieira said. “It’s a personal target, a big target because they have a very good team. But it all depends on what I do here because I have to just keep working hard and try and get more games.” Vieira made 71 appearances for Leeds after he came up through the youth ranks. His brother didn’t fair so well and Romario Vieira is still without a club after being released in the summer.